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Managing Your Garden and Landscape: The Planet Depends on it

1. As more people recognize that what's good for the environment is also good for them and their families, there is growing interest in making gardens and landscapes better for the Earth. In the 1940s, the organic food movement started as a counter to increased reliance on synthetic (chemical) fertilizers and pesticides, which numerous studies have shown to be harmful to our air, water, soils, wildlife, and to people. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers have negative consequences for the environment and human health by leaching nitrates into groundwater and surface waters, causing massive algal growth that harms aquatic life. Synthetic nitrogen also releases nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. For soil fertility, use certified organic products, OMRI-listed products, or your own compost. Use mulch or ground cover to retain soil moisture, limit weeds, and to act as compost as it breaks down. Peat moss is a popular addition to gardens, but peat bogs are being destroyed by environmentally unsound practices that deprive unique ecosystems for birds and animals, as well as releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide in the process. A good replacement for peat moss is coconut coir ( also known as coco peat, or coir peat), which is the short fibers left over when coconuts are harvested and husked. Dig deeper by going to National Gardening Association at garden.org.

2. Toxic, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, which have the ability to increase yields and reduce loss, have become popular, though at great cost to the health of the soil and the living creatures who come in contact with the chemicals. Glyphosate, the synthetic weed- and pest-killing component in Roundup, is credited as the cause of cancer in Monsanto's costly litigation, while neonicotinoids (neonics) are widely seen as destructive to all pollinators, many of which are helpful in controlling other pests in the garden. These chemicals are used on lawns, school grounds, crop fields, gardens, and green public spaces, but there are nature-based solutions you can use instead. NEEM OIL, made from the neem tree, should be sprayed when you see the first adult bug; INSECTICIDAL SOAPS kill pests when sprayed directly, but avoid beneficial bees and spiders that may be hunting down some of the pests (you can make your own with 1 TBSP of dishwashing soap in a quart of water); DIATOMACEOUS EARTH, a fine dust made from tiny aquatic organism fossils that contained silica can be used on plant leaves or as a powder around the base of plants to discourage slugs. Find more tips at Green America.org, and search "Climate Victory Gardens."

3. The EPA estimates that 9 billion gallons of water a day are used on lawns and 17 million gallons of gas are used in mowers every year. Expanses of lawn also require the use of broad- spectrum chemicals that kill many bees, butterflies, moths, caterpillars, dragonflies and ladybugs, as well as contributing to the death of nestling birds when their insect food disappears. Fish and other aquatic organisms can succumb when the pesticides end up in nearby ponds and lakes, according to the National Wildlife Federation, which is advocating for passage of the Recovering America's Wildlife Act as well as a North American Grasslands Conservation Act. By replacing all or part of your lawn with native flowers (National Wildlife Federation's Native Plant Finder at bit.ly/3vGsXz), you will mow less and provide plantings that will create a diverse and inviting ecosystem for beneficial insects such as dragonflies and damselflies that are voracious mosquito eaters. Turtles, frogs and bats, and many species of birds, from hummingbirds to woodpeckers, warblers and wrens, will also feast on the insects. For needed mowing, consider swapping out a dirty gas-powered mower for an electric-powered mower, which will also cut down on noise pollution. Visit The Nature Conservancy at nature.org/climatemnndsd to learn more about how native plants provide us with cleaner water and air, wildlife habitat, improved quality of life and natural resilience. If you want to turn your lawn into a wildflower meadow, visit wildseedproject.net/return-of-the-meadow.

4. Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author of "To Speak for the Trees," is a Canadian born medical biochemist, botanist, organic chemist, poet, author and developer of artificial blood who writes that the well known status of the Amazon forests to store carbon dioxide and oxygenate the air is matched by the vast boreal forests that stretch across eight countries in the Northern Hemisphere. Trees, she writes, are "the best and only thing we have right now to fight climate change and do it fast." But industrial logging continues to eat away at these forests, threatening the soil fertility needed to avoid famine. Beresford-Kroeger laments that "we only understand a small portion of what we're choosing to destroy," calling deforestation an act of suicide, even homicide. We all have a role to play in protecting the natural areas that nature provides for our health, well-being and way of life, which is modeled to us by the work of The Nature Conservancy in helping Minnesota state parks to be reforested with a mix of climate-adapted native species. As climate change (global warming) continues, signature tree species such as paper birch, quaking aspen, balsam fir and white spruce are slowly giving way to invasive grasses and shrubs. TNC has planted 5.5 million trees in Minnesota's Northwoods, 100, 000 seedlings of which include climate-adapted white pine, red oak, bur oak, yellow birch, white cedar, and tamarack. You can help restore and regenerate our natural systems by planting climate-adapted trees, with shade-loving native plants beneath them. To learn more, visit nature.org/treeswatersoil.

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Laura Raedeke

EcoFaith Network NE MN Team
Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, MN

Northeastern Minnesota Synod

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NE-MN Synod ELCA with Saint Paul Area Synod Care of Creation

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